Author: Sean

When Leesa was working in IT, she realized that her soul was dying. She decided to get in touch with her inner child and went on a journey of expressive writing, self inquiry and healing. Leesa picked up a creative pursuit and discovered that she wants to embrace whatever emotions come up for her.

She shares these nuggets of life wisdom:– we have a short span of time on earth– let’s focus on what’s important

Leesa Renee Hall is an author, facilitator, social historian, and creative word artist. Author of seven books, Leesa was known as a technology pioneer before turning her attention to writing about the intersection of race, spirituality, and leadership.

After writing half a million words over 365 consecutive days, Leesa discovered that expressive writing can help expand our sense of identity and connect to a higher guidance. She helps highly sensitive introverted leaders (HSIL for short) use the art of self-inquiry to question their unconscious biases so they create truly inclusive communities, companies, and corporations.

Leesa is on the Advisory Board for Awarepreneurs, a global community of social enterprise business leaders and entrepreneurs with a focus on social justice, diversity, and inclusion. Leesa’s tips have been featured in American Express OPEN, Globe & Mail, Choice, The Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, Profit, and Inc. to name a few, along with television, radio and podcast appearances.

Victor Chiu is a multi-award winning author for his book Wall Street Kitchen: The Recipe Behind a Housewife’s 1000% Stock Return. He is also an active stock and real estate investor. Victor graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2005, where he studied economic geography to obtain his B.A. A contributor to business media, he has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, U.S News & World Report, and Yahoo Finance. He is a member of The American Association of Individual Investors, American Economic Association, and a member and frequent contributor to Canadian Money Forum.

Bella experienced chronic stomach problems. She used to have feelings of “I’m not good enough to exist, if I’m not outstanding”. Bella was afraid to leave her house. She had developed anxiety disorder. Her inner voice told her to “wake up”, as in waking up in her life. Bella wrote “Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy – A Memoir”, which was part of her healing.

As an entrepreneur, Paige was on the verge of burnout. She was desperate for peace in her life. Then, Paige was diagnosed with breast cancer. She practiced meditation, mindfulness and visualization. Paige saw her cancer journey as a love journey, e.g. saw it through a compassionate lens.

She shares this wisdom:

our connections to ourselves, our spirits and others is most important

the importance of self care, which is nourishing our bodies, minds and spirits, so that we can be there for others in a more meaningful way

explore meditation and mindfulness

let’s be kind to ourselves

Paige Davis is an entrepreneur, writer, cancer survivor, mindfulness facilitator, and meditation teacher. She leads and facilitates meditation and mindfulness programming for companies, teams, and individuals seeking more patience, productivity, and present-moment awareness. Paige is also co-founder of social impact brand, BlueAvocado. The company’s thoughtful designs and creative solutions invite people to live a greener, simpler, and more mindful life. Paige received a BA in Journalism and Environmental Science from the University of Indiana and holds certifications from the Mclean Meditation Institute, Western School of Feng Shui and Pilates Center of Austin. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post and MindBodyGreen. She is the author of “Here We Grow: Mindfulness Through Cancer and Beyond”.

DougBopst is an award-winning personal trainer, author, speaker and business owner. He is a former felon and drug addict, sentenced to years in jail due to his poor decisions.. He is the author of two books: “From Felony to Fitness to Free,” and “Faith Family Fitness,” He has appeared on WBAL, WJZ, ABC and FOX 45, as well as been a recurring guest on National Substance Abuse Expert Mike Gimbels “Straight Talk” show discussing fitness for addiction recovery. He’s also been featured in the Baltimore Sun, PFP Magazine, Towson Times and voted as one of Baltimores 12 Fitness Heroes in 2015.

Dr. Diane Pomerantz is a clinical psychologist who has been in practice working with children, adolescents, and adults in the Baltimore, Maryland area for over thirty-five years. She has done extensive work in the area of trauma and child abuse and research in the area of personality development of abused children. She currently runs Healing Through Writing groups in her practice. She is a breast cancer survivor and has two wonderful grown children. She and her shaggy dog, Rug, live amidst tall trees on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland. She published her first book, a memoir called “Lost in the Reflecting Pool”, which tells her story of her 20 year marriage to a malignant narcissist.

AmyDresner is a former professional comic and recovering drug, booze and sex addict. She’s been the top columnist for the addiction/recovery magazine TheFix.com for over 6 years, also writing for addiction.com, Vice, Psychology Today, After Party Chat, Refinery 29 and others. Her first book, “My Fair Junkie: A memoir of getting dirty and staying clean” was released by Hachette in September 2017 to rave reviews.